Monday, December 07
Buffalo @ Vancouver 2-5
The Canucks got a break when a rebound bounced right to Radim Vrbata in front of an empty net eight minutes into the game against the Sabres. It was what Vrbata needed to jump start his first hat trick since joining the Canucks as a free agent before last season. Vrbata used that tip from the slot to score his second goal and put the Canucks ahead for good with 3:13 left in the first period. He completed his sixth career hat trick with 5:32 left, taking a pass from Adam Cracknell out of the corner and quickly putting a low shot past Linus Ullmark's blocker from the right faceoff circle. The game started well, with Gionta opening the scoring 6:48 into the first period after Jamie McGinn's centering pass bounced up off the stick of Ben Hutton and Gionta batted it out of the air and over Miller. The goal counted after a video review determined Gionta's stick wasn't above the crossbar when it made contact with the puck, and the assist extended McGinn's point streak to six games, a career-high. Vrbata tied it on the fortunate rebound bounce 80 seconds later, and the Sabres seemed to come undone after a too many men on the ice penalty three minutes after that. Vancouver had an apparent goal called off shortly after the power play expired because the whistle blew before the puck went in. But the Canucks, who had been shut out twice in their previous four games and held below 20 shots in three straight, seemed to get momentum from their power play and Vrbata scored again five minutes later. Promoted to the top line with Daniel Sedin and Henrik Sedin for a shift, Vrbata redirected a Dan Hamhuis point shot from the slot up and over Ullmark's glove at 16:42 of the first period. Vrbata, who led the Canucks with 31 goals last season, scored three in his first 19 games this season but has six goals in his past eight games. Prust made it 3-1 at 4:34 of the second period after a nice pass from Derek Dorsett behind the net, one-timing it between Ullmark's legs. Henrik Sedin tipped a pass from Alexander Edler between Ullmark's legs on a 4-on-3 per play with 2:42 left in the second period. But Reinhart, whose father, Paul Reinart, played for the Canucks from 1988-1990, closed the gap 1:51 into the third. Ryan O'Reilly fought off a check at the side of the net and while falling he slid the puck out front to Reinhart, who one-timed his eighth goal over Miller's blocker. The assist extended O’Reilly’s point streak to five games, but he was more concerned with how his team played, gathering players at the bench during the second period.
Tuesday, December 08
NY Islanders @ Philadelphia 4-3 SO
Kyle Okposo scored the only goal of the shootout to give the Islanders a 4-3 victory. Okposo, the Islanders' second shooter, skated in, deked Flyers goalie Michal Neuvirth to the ice, dragged the puck around him and lifted it over Neuvirth's blocker. The Islanders started well, taking a 3-1 lead 1:14 into the second period on Nielsen's 11th of the season. At that point, the Flyers pulled Mason, who allowed three goals on 10 shots. The change sparked Philadelphia, which got White's goal at 4:09 of the second and Giroux's tying goal at 2:02 of the third. The Flyers nearly tied the game at 13:58 of the second on a power-play goal by Simmonds, but after video review, the call on the ice was reversed when it was determined Simmonds kicked the puck into the net. Neuvirth's best saves came in the third after Giroux's shot from above the right circle bounced in off Leddy to tie the game 3-3. Besides the breakaway stop on Cizikas, he made a flashy glove save on an Okposo shot from the right circle with 7:04 left after a giveaway by Shayne Gostisbehere. Halak also was outstanding in preserving the tie. His best saves came with 9:17 left in the third when he stopped a Michael Del Zotto shot from the left side, then sprawled to make a low save on Chris VandeVelde and from a sitting position gloved a Bellemare shot. The Islanders got the start they were looking for, with Nielsen's low shot squeezing through Mason's pads 55 seconds into the game. Bellemare tied it with a shorthanded goal off a 2-on-0 rush with Giroux at 9:12 of the first. But during the same Islanders power play, Nelson tipped a Leddy one-timer past Mason at 10:43 of the first to give the Islanders a 2-1 lead. The Islanders looked to be in control when Nielsen scored his second goal of the night with a shot between Del Zotto's skates that Mason couldn't find to make it 3-1.
Los Angeles @ Columbus 3-2 OT
Sergei Bobrovsky exited with an undisclosed injury, and Alec Martinez scored with 27 seconds left in overtime to give the Los Angeles Kings 3-2 victory. Play had stopped when Bobrovsky signaled to a referee that he needed a trainer. After being attended to, he went to the dressing room. Bobrovsky was replaced by Curtis McElhinney, who had not played since Nov. 19. He was immediately under fire when Jeff Carter's shot hit the left post. Carter, who previous played for the Blue Jackets, didn't miss with 1:27 left in the third period when he got his 11th goal to tie the score 2-2 while the Kings had an extra attacker. Brown found Nick Shore low in the left faceoff circle and Shore sent a pass back the other way for a one-timer by Martinez. Columbus took a 2-0 lead in the second period on goals by Hartnell and Calvert before Ehrhoff scored for the Kings. Ehrhoff's second goal of the season was unassisted, but the Kings' relentless forecheck was the catalyst. It forced David Savard to attempt a bank shot of the left wall to relieve the pressure, but Ehrhoff took it at the blue line and beat Bobrovsky through traffic at 17:38. Hartnell's second power-play goal in as many games gave Columbus a 1-0 lead at 2:32 of the second. Calvert's fourth goal was off a breakout pass through the neutral zone by Brandon Saad at 14:17. Calvert took the pass in stride on the right wing and handcuffed Quick, who got a piece of the shot with his glove but could not stop it.
John Tortorella whined and opined: "That was men against boys tonight. We should be embarrassed. I am. I am. Obviously, I'm not doing a good enough job to get the team ready in these type of situations. I'm totally embarrassed by the way we played."
Detroit @ Washington 2-3 SO
Justin Williams scored 43 seconds into the first period for a 1-0 lead on Washington's first shot of the game. Marcus Johansson started the play, taking advantage of a Detroit turnover and getting the puck to Kuznetsov. He went to the net and found Williams on the other side with his pass, where he tapped the puck past Howard. Zetterberg tied the game 1-1 at 15:40 of the first. Dylan Larkin sent the puck across the crease to Zetterberg, who beat Holtby stick side for his fifth goal. Larkin's assist was his 11th. Jurco scored his first goal of the season at 3:16 of the second period to give the Red Wings a 2-1 lead. Joakim Andersson tied up Dmitry Orlov behind the goal line and passed the puck to Jurco, left alone in front of the net. Ovechkin tied the game 2-2 on a power play at 10:51 of the third. He found the puck loose in the crease and put it behind Howard for his 13th of the season. Oshie and Evgeny Kuznetsov scored in the shootout, and the Capitals moved into first place in the Metropolitan Division.
New Jersey @ Toronto 2-3 SO
New Jersey took the lead at 1:24 of the first period when former Toronto right wing Lee Stempniak scored on the power play. With Roman Polak off for cross-checking, Stempniak deflected John Moore's slap shot from the left point past goalie Garret Sparks for his seventh goal. Toronto nearly tied it at 6:35 of the first when Matt Hunwick's slap shot from 10 feet inside the blue line cleanly beat New Jersey goalie Cory Schneider, but it hit the post. The Maple Leafs did draw even at 14:13, thanks to a fortuitous bounce. PA Parenteau's dump-in from just outside the blue line landed 10 feet in front of Schneider and bounced in over his left shoulder. The Maple Leafs took a 2-1 lead at 2:12 of the second period with a power-play goal. With Jon Merrill off for tripping, Toronto captain Dion Phaneuf took a slap shot from the point that van Riemsdyk tipped past Schneider for his eight goal. The Devils tied it 2-2 at 13:20 when Kyle Palmieri, playing the left point on the power play, took a slap shot past a screened Sparks for his 12th goal of the season and fifth in his past six games. Nazem Kadri's goal in the shootout gave the Maple Leafs a 3-2 win. Toronto's Tyler Bozak and New Jersey's Mike Cammalleri each scored in the shootout.
Ottawa @ Florida 4-2
Mike Hoffman, who entered play tied for fourth in the NHL with 14 goals, scored from the slot with a wrist shot that went off the skate of Dmitry Kulikov after Kulikov had stopped a shot from the point. Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored a short-handed empty-net goal with 2:31 left after Luongo was pulled for an extra attacker. Florida led 2-1 going into the third period, but Turris tied it 51 seconds in with Ottawa's second power-play goal of the game. He shot into an open net after Ryan's wrist shot bounced off Stone's skate and slid across the front of the net. Shaw, playing in his seventh NHL game, opened the scoring 7:49 into the first period. After Derek MacKenzie poked the puck past a pinching Ottawa defenseman, Shaw beat Anderson on a 2-on-1 with a slap shot high to the glove side. Smith tied the game 48 seconds into the second period with the first power-play goal allowed by Florida after 20 consecutive kills over seven games. With Brandon Pirri in the penalty box for slashing, Smith finished off a pretty passing play by one-timing Stone's feed from behind the net. Stone one-timed a pass from Turris to set up Smith in the left circle. Reilly Smith gave Florida a 2-1 lead at 13:58 of the second by beating Anderson on a breakaway. After taking a feed from Vincent Trocheck in the neutral zone, Smith made a deke to his backhand before flipping the puck high to the glove side. Ottawa almost tied the game in the final 10 seconds of the period on a rebound from close range by Pageau, but Luongo stopped the puck with his arm while sprawled on the ice.
No comments:
Post a Comment